Last Updated on: 22nd November 2023, 05:32 pm
The ScaleUp Institute, with the support of the Goldman Sachs Foundation and 10,000 Small Businesses UK, today announces the launch of a new initiative aimed at driving regional economic growth. This innovative programme, first developed in the US by Professor Daniel Isenberg of Babson College, is being brought to the UK for the first time during the UK’s Growth Hub Week.
The programme has proven success in stimulating and driving economic growth through building supportive entrepreneurial ecosystems and focusses on how cities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (“LEPs”) and local areas can help deliver this. It also highlights how support should be given to local business leaders, specifically high growth firms, in order to stimulate scaleup growth among small businesses.
The initiative will provide practical on-going support over a two-year period through the design and delivery of Strategic Economic Plans. 19 different Local Enterprise Partnerships and Growth Hubs from across the UK will be a part of the inaugural course.
The inaugural programme will kick off in Birmingham today in the heart of the Midlands Engine with full support from the local LEP and Aston University.
Sherry Coutu CBE, Chair of the ScaleUp Institute, said:
“It has never been a better time to work together to support the growth needs of our fastest scaling businesses and we are committed to working with our local and regional authorities and private sector partners to support their focus on the growth of our scale up businesses and sectors. This course is a tool that can help develop the collaborative and practical programmes that can make a real difference to the needs of scaleups.
I’ve seen the real impact it has had around the world and I am delighted that we are able to bring this to the UK in partnership with the Goldman Sachs Foundation and their 10,000 Small Businesses programme. I am thrilled that we have leaders and business representatives from 19 LEP areas joining us in Birmingham alongside a strong participant group from Scotland. It demonstrates the passion the country has for growth and the determination to support our scaleup businesses. I am also pleased at the support the Government, including Innovate UK, has given to this initiative’.
Dina Habib Powell, President of the Goldman Sachs Foundation and Global Head of Impact Investing said:
“We are pleased to be partnering with the ScaleUp Institute to bring this course to the UK. This initiative complements the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programme which helps entrepreneurs create jobs and grow their businesses. We believe that by working in partnership with the ScaleUp Institute, this program will help provide the economic environment that is so necessary to allow small businesses to grow. Having worked with over 1000 small businesses in the UK, we know that access to intensive business education and support services unlocks growth, leading to increased revenues and net new jobs”.
Rt Hon Anna Soubry, Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise said:
“The support given by the ScaleUp Institute and the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative is a terrific example of what Local Enterprise Partnerships and the full growth hub network can offer businesses.
“It’s great that the first session of this new programme will be held in the heart of the Midlands Engine, which is home to some of the most innovative businesses in the country and worth more than £200 billion to the UK economy.
I’m looking forward to seeing how it will bring business schools, local leaders and business owners together with world-renowned expertise. Partnerships like this can help drive our economy, boost productivity and accelerate local growth across the country.”
